I was just wondering if any of you out there with older dogs wake them to eat or just go with the flow?

The vet told us it is not unusual for older dogs to be up in the night, which Ginger often is. Sometimes she needs to go out to urinate but mostly she just lies there with her head up watching shadows on the walls I guess.

If you notice the time now, it is almost noon and she still has not had breakfast. They usually all eat between 7-8 a.m. and dinner at 4ish. The kicker is, even if she eats at noon she is still all gung ho at 4 to eat her dinner

Was just wondering if others have this situation and how you are handling it? I don't want to force feed her if she is not ready to eat because she has a greart appetite and I know how important it is for her to eat well.

I let mine eat when they want to. Both of them normally sleep way past when I am feeding the cats although Sammy wants outside first thing. She then comes back in and finds her spot by my computer chair and goes back to sleep for an hour or so. After that she wants to come out with me to feed the Catty cats. She gets to lick out the cans. By the time we come back in she is usually ready for a bit of food. Keesha I try to get food into whenever she is ready. She lets me know by wandering around and crying.

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Assumptions do nothing but make an ass out of u and me.

We can stick our heads in the sand for only so long before it starts choking us. Face it folks. The pet population is bad ALL OVER THE WORLD!

We were feeding Nanook 3 times a day, but we're now down to 2 because the little monster has gained SO much weight, he's 104.4 lbs now . He eats between 7-9 am and 7-9 pm, it's coordinated with his pill schedule every 12 hours. Thorin, on the other hand, eats whenever he feels like it. He is a senior also and will sometimes sleep until 11 or 12. He has never had a great appetite and has always been free fed because of that. It's impossible to "make" him eat at scheduled times. We have a baby gate to separate the upstairs from the main floor. His bowl is upstairs with food whenever he wants it. He just scratches on the gate to let us know

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"Obey my dog!" - Mugatu

"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile Gautier

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" - Ok... whoever said this has never had a sick or special needs baby. They ARE our whole life!

I never wake up my dog to eat. I usually wait till he wakes up on his own and then I feed him. He pretty much sleeps mostly all day long. He is 15 now. He pretty much just eats and sleeps at this point. So when ever he gets ups I put food down for him. Mindy

I was just wondering if any of you out there with older dogs wake them to eat or just go with the flow?

The vet told us it is not unusual for older dogs to be up in the night, which Ginger often is. Sometimes she needs to go out to urinate but mostly she just lies there with her head up watching shadows on the walls I guess.

If you notice the time now, it is almost noon and she still has not had breakfast. They usually all eat between 7-8 a.m. and dinner at 4ish. The kicker is, even if she eats at noon she is still all gung ho at 4 to eat her dinner

Was just wondering if others have this situation and how you are handling it? I don't want to force feed her if she is not ready to eat because she has a greart appetite and I know how important it is for her to eat well.

Thanks for any insights.

Our Peaches has started to reverse a trend in her morning eating habits as well....
Years ago,when she was much younger ( before we gave Rusty his forever home) she would only eat once a day , usually EITHER in the A.M. Or P.M. , sometimes skipping a day,basically whenever she wanted....
When Rusty came into the picture ,she started to eat with him twice a day ( A.M.&P.M.) both times before going out on their walks.
After her kidney & infections last year, force-feeding her with a tube was whole different situation but returned to her twice a day eating routine ....Untill about three weeks ago, that is...
Gradually she has refused to eat her breakfast until well into the morning , sometimes 2 hours after walk ( I wake her ).
Sometimes she will skip the A.M. feeding altogether & now will only eat her dinner later after her walk...
We have changed dry holistic, which she does like but has always preferred to have a little wet-type on top....
We have had to change wet brands back& forth as well...
Peaches will sleep through the night but can toss & turn or change locations a couple of times maybe just to feel more comfortable ( lumps & bumps )
Have you checked to see in her mouth if a tooth might be bothering her or maybe it is kidney related ?
We know it is frustrating but the key thing is that she is eating heartily at some point on a daily basis , just a little rough on you guys to feel like that it is part of a "normal routine "
At their age we just try to go with the flow...